


White Knight.

by signifying_nothing



Category: K-pop, VIXX
Genre: Gen, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-07
Updated: 2015-09-07
Packaged: 2018-04-19 15:36:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,477
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4751684
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/signifying_nothing/pseuds/signifying_nothing
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>so maybe hongbin's getting a little aggressive about protecting hakyeon's feelings. so what?</p>
            </blockquote>





	White Knight.

The plate hit the floor and cracked like an egg into three pieces and a few shards of ceramic. Hakyeon's jaw screwed tightly shut and Hongbin didn't have time to reach out and grab him before he stepped over the broken mess and towards the door, grabbing a pair of shoes and his bag on the way out.

 

“Hyung?” he asked the empty room, eyes wide with confusion.

 

On the other end of the kitchen, Taekwoon balled his fists and gritted his teeth and refused to be sorry.

 

The barricades had been re-erected. Hongbin hadn't seen them since his first few months with Hakyeon, back when it was just the two of them trying to feel one another out and Hongbin was still convinced that Hakyeon was some sort of demon beneath all that sugar and sass.

 

And he was a demon, in some ways, but that was neither here, nor there. The point was that Hakyeon was shuttered up, his face dark and his shoulders tense like he was watching his back, like he was waiting to get attacked. That hadn't happened since they'd stopped filming that stupid competition show and Hakyeon had finally been able to relax, to really enjoy his time with the people he was going to be spending most of his time with, from then on. It alarmed Hongbin that all of that progress, all of that good, was suddenly gone.

 

“Hyung?” he asked, standing in the doorway of Hakyeon's room but not stepping inside. “Can I talk to you?”

 

“What is it, Hongbinah.”

 

It was a relief that Hakyeon answered him with the affectionate _ah._ It assured Hongbin. He stepped into the room and closed the door quietly. Hakyeon's bed faced the large window; he stared out into the skyline and Hongbin sat beside him, offered his hand. “Are you okay?”

 

It took too long for Hakyeon to answer and that told Hongbin all he needed to know. Hakyeon wasn't okay. He was so far into Not Okay that he couldn't bring himself to lie about it. Hongbin scooted up onto the bed beside him, laid next to him and stared at the side of his face. His eyes were red but he wasn't crying. He probably had been, though. Judging from his pink, swollen lips he'd been chewing, and the fingernails that were bitten down to nothing.

 

“What can I do for you, Hyung.”

 

“Nothing,” Hakyeon replied, still staring off into the dark. “You can't do anything, Hongbinah. You can't... Fix. These things.”

 

“What things?”

 

“Friendships.”

 

Hongbin frowned and thought of how Taekwoon had been standing in the kitchen looking like the personification of doom, gloom and prophesy. He thought about how Hakyeon had gone out of his way, it seemed, to not be close to Taekwoon, or to any of them, for that matter.

 

“What happened?”

 

Hakyeon closed his eyes and shook his head. “Nothing.”

 

“Hyung.”

 

“Don't, Hongbin, please.” Hakyeon took a slow, deep breath in. “Please don't. I can't.”

 

_Can't,_ Hongbin pursed his mouth and nodded, getting up. Hakyeon never said  _can't._ Not about something serious, not about anything important. It went against who he was as a person. 

 

“Okay,” Hongbin murmured, pushing back his hair. “I'll... Be outside, hyung. If you need me.”

 

“Thanks.”

 

Hongbin didn't say anything about the tears Hakyeon couldn't quite hide. He'd always been bad at it, hiding his tears. He'd never had to, before coming here, before being with all of them. When he stepped out into the living room, he was unsurprised to find Taekwoon hovering near the door, no doubt trying to suss out what was going on and what Hongbin knew about... Whatever the situation had been.

 

“Fuck off,” Hongbin snapped.

 

Taekwoon's eyes widened but he said nothing.

 

“You fucking heard me. I don't know what you did, what you said-- Don't even make excuses, don't _even.”_ Taekwoon's mouth snapped shut and Hongbin kept speaking. _“_ I don't care. I don't fucking care. You leave him alone, do you understand me?” Hongbin knew he shouldn't speak to Taekwoon that way, but what was he going to do about it? There was no leverage for him to use, here. 

 

It was about more than the five of them teasing Hakyeon for being dark-skinned. It was about something more important than that and frankly if Taekwoon had managed to upset Hakyeon so much just by talking about it, Hongbin didn't want to force it out of his oldest friend. Not until he was ready to speak.

 

Even if he was never ready to speak.

 

~

 

He didn't speak. But over the course of the weeks Hongbin could figure it out on his own. Hakyeon didn't touch Taekwoon. He didn't tease him, didn't touch him, didn't attempt to draw him out at interviews or make allowances to fill his awkward silences. It was like the two of them had stopped acknowledging that one another existed and it was only a matter of time before Wonsik came to Hongbin to talk about it.

 

“What do you think it's about,” he asked, as the two of them went through their work-out routine and kept their voices at whispers.

 

“I don't want to make assumptions,” Hongbin said. Wonsik gave him a _look_ and Hongbin sighed, rubbing a towel over the back of his neck. “If I had to guess... Taekwoon might have found out.”

 

Wonsik's brow furrowed deeply. The two of them knew about Hakyeon's homosexuality because they'd accidentally witnessed him giving a teary goodbye to his ex-boyfriend when the show had been officially announced. They'd had suspicions, of course, but no one  _said_ anything, and the two of them hadn't told Hakyeon what they'd seen, because they... Didn't want him to feel trapped, or judged, or... Whatever. 

 

What  _wasn't_ a secret among their group mates was that Taekwoon had no lost affection for homosexuals. He didn't hate them, but they made him very uncomfortable, probably because he'd always been treated like one when he wasn't, because he was considered an easy target for harrassment when he was a teenager, because... Because who knew. All that mattered was that if Taekwoon had found out that Hakyeon was gay then of course he would assume that all of those past touches, all of that past comfort and love had a hidden meaning, context, intent. 

 

“Did you ask him?”

 

“I told him to stay the fuck away from hyung,” Hongbin replied, and Wonsik rolled his eyes.

 

“I'm sure that helped.”

 

“I don't care about helping him right now,” Hongbin muttered, carefully lifting his weights. “He's a fucking asshole and he's treating Hakyeon like shit.”

 

“We treat him like shit all the time, Hongbin,” Wonsik reminded.

 

“Yeah,” Hongbin set his weights down and snarled. “But not because we hate him for who he is, what he is, something he can't fucking help. I've never made hyung cry.”

 

He stalked away, frustrated, angry: he wasn't going to be kind to Taekwoon about this. Fuck Taekwoon. Fuck him and his-- whatever the fuck it was he'd done to hurt Hakyeon so fucking badly. The two of them might be closer in age, but Hongbin had known Hakyeon longer, and if he could prevent any more damage coming to his fragile oldest friend, then he would.

 

~

 

“Hyung?” Hongbin asked, knocking on the doorframe.

 

“Mm.”

 

“Can I sleep in here?”

 

“Mm.”

 

Hongbin closed the door, fresh-showered and smelling clean as he got up onto the bed with Hakyeon and laid beside him, throwing an arm over his chest. “Are you okay?”

 

“Yeah,” Hakyeon said.

 

“Are you lying to me?”

 

“No.”

 

“Are you sure?”

 

“Hongbinah.”

 

“You just seem so upset,” he said, trying to soothe the ruffled feathers. “I just want to help.”

 

“I don't think you can.”

 

“Tell me what happened?”

 

“No.”

 

“Please?”

 

Hakyeon sighed, and Hongbin sat up a little, intent on listening. “Taekwoon and I had... A discussion.” Hakyeon said  _discussion_ like most people said  _argument._ “It... He said some things I...” 

 

“Like what?”

 

“I really don't want to get into this, Hongbin--”

 

“Did he say something shitty because you're gay, hyung?”

 

There was a moment of silence. It was more than enough of an answer, and Hongbin was prepared for the way Hakyeon's entire being seemed to collapse in on him, crumbling away into a flow of silent tears.

 

“He did.”

 

“It's his right.”

 

“No it's not.”

 

“It is, Hongbinah.”

 

“No one gets to be an asshole over something like that. Not here. Not with you.”

 

“My shining white knight,” Hakyeon said, going for sardonic and just sounding sad.

 

“Maybe.” Hongbin said thoughtfully. “I've never dated a boy, hyung. So who knows, maybe I am.”

 

“Don't say things like that.”

 

“Why?”

 

“Because you're...” Hakyeon trailed off and Hongbin hummed.

 

“How do you know? How do I even know? I spent most of my time with... Well, with you guys. I didn't get to date girls, how do I know I'm not into guys?”

 

“Hongbin I don't want--”

 

“To talk about this?”

 

“...Yes.”

 

“Hyung, I'm sorry, but you kind of have to. You're imploding. It's scary.”

 

“I'm not trying to scare anyone.”

 

“I know that, but you are. And we're worried for you. I think even Taekwoon is worried, even though he's a huge asshole.”

 

“He thought I... Wanted him,” Hakyeon said, his voice very small. Hongbin nodded, letting his fingers wrap around Hakyeon's hand. “And I was just so surprised by what he said, I couldn't-- and then he said--”

 

“What did he say?”

 

“...He said he wasn't sure he could be close friends with me anymore,” Hakyeon's voice broke off into a raspy whisper and Hongbin had never hated anyone so much as he did in that moment. “I guess... I guess he thought I was just trying... I don't know, to get close to him, I.”

 

“He's a fucking idiot,” Hongbin said smartly, laying down to hug Hakyeon to his chest.

 

“I knew he had bad experiences,” Hakyeon said. “I knew he didn't... But I couldn't _say_ anything, Hongbinah, I couldn't _talk._ ” His chest jumped and Hongbin reached to turn him over, to bring his older friend's head to his neck to tuck him in close. “I couldn't say anything.” His voice broke.

 

“Shh, shh, hyung,” Hongbin assured, rubbing Hakyeon's back. “Don't. It's not your fault. He shouldn't have said that. He should know you better by now.”

 

“I thought he did,” Hakyeon said. “That's... Why I told him. I had to tell someone, Hongbinah, it hurts so much, I can't--”

 

“I don't blame you,” Hongbin said, smoothing Hakyeon's messy hair. “I don't blame you. I'm sure it hurts.” Hongbin wouldn't know for sure: he'd never had a sexual identity crisis. He'd never had time to figure out his sexuality at all, really. But he did know he wanted Hakyeon to stop crying, so he pressed his lips to his forehead in a motion of comfort.

 

“I want my friend back,” Hakyeon whispered, and the little echo of a sob in it made Hongbin hate Taekwoon. How _dare_ he.

 

Hakyeon fell asleep, cradled back into Hongbin, his eyes swollen. Hongbin watched him sleep, and after a while, reached to thread their fingers together. It was nice. Being close to Hakyeon like that. Hands held, safe. 

 

Maybe he was into men. He'd have to look into it later. His priority right now was Hakyeon, and getting him back to a place where he felt like he could function as a part of their group. 

 

And that meant talking to Taekwoon.

 

~

 

He cornered Taekwoon after a recording. The older man scowled at him and Hongbin scowled right back. “We can play the bitchy glaring game until I want to punch you in the mouth or you can get your ass over here and talk to me right now. I'm sure you know which I'd prefer.”

 

Taekwoon took a deep breath in through his nose and walked to Hongbin, arms tightly crossed. “What.”

 

“First of all, what the _fuck_ is your problem,” Hongbin hissed, hair falling into his eyes. “Fucking-- deciding you can't be friends with Hakyeon anymore because he's _gay?_ What kind of fucking fuckstick were you raised to be, Jung Taekwoon?”

 

“I didn't--”

 

“No, no you let me fucking finish. You don't get to be like that to him. You don't get to tell him you don't want to be friends with him over something like that, like it's something he can change, like it's something he _chose_ to be.”

 

“I didn't mean--”

 

“Does it matter what you meant?!” Hongbin snarled. “He's fucking crying all the time because you're not talking to him, he's fucking falling apart because you don't want to be friends with a gay person. He thinks you hate him.”

 

“I don--”

 

“So _fix it,_ ” Hongbin hissed, still glaring, righteous fury burning in his chest. “Your silence game isn't going to fucking fix anything, you know he's not going to come to you, you know he's never going to ask you, so you're gonna have to fucking do it yourself. Shitstick.”

 

Taekwoon eyed Hongbin for a long moment. 

 

“What.”

 

“...Nothing,” Taekwoon said. “He's just lucky.”

 

“What?”

 

“To have a boyfriend like you.”

 

Taekwoon stepped around Hongbin and left him frowning, brow furrowed as he glared after him. 

 

~

 

Hongbin did his best not to eavesdrop. He cleaned the kitchen, did the laundry, mopped the floor and reorganized the shoe cabinet before the door opened and Hakyeon stepped out, red-eyed but not crying. Taekwoon, too, looked like he'd been in distress. 

 

“Hongbinah,” Hakyeon waved him over and he dropped his cleaner to a shelf to make his way over. “Come on. The two of you have to make up.”

 

“We do not,” Hongbin replied, eyeballing Taekwoon just as Taekwoon was eyeballing him. 

 

“Come on. I can't have the two of you being like this.” Hakyeon took their hands in his and brought them together. “Friends.”

 

“...Friends,” Hongbin agreed reluctantly. Taekwoon pouted and did the same. “And... I guess I'm sorry for yelling.”

 

“...I'll try to be more clear,” Taekwoon said, looking between the two of them and carefully extricating himself. “Next time.” He offered them a small, genuine smile before he headed to his room, his shoulders more relaxed than they had been in weeks.

 

“Better not _be_ a next time,” Hongbin muttered, and Hakyeon laughed, still holding his hand. 

 

“My white knight,” he said, tentatively. Hongbin looked over at him and, after a moment, planted a firm, chaste kiss onto Hakyeon's startled mouth. 

 

“Yeah,” he nodded. “Why not.” Hakyeon laughed, tucked his head into Hongbin's shoulder for a moment. 

 

“Well, come on,” he said. “Lets get the cleaning up finished.”

 

“Onward ho,” Hongbin rolled his eyes, but he couldn't help smiling, looking down at Hakyeon's hand pressed to his. It was... Nice. Really nice. 

 

(maybe he liked boys after all. 

Or maybe he just really, really liked hakyeon.)

 


End file.
